The Toll of Underage Drinking

• Three teens are killed each day when they drink alcohol and drive.1 At least six more die every day from other alcohol-related causes.2

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 6,002 young people ages 16-20 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2003. Alcohol was involved in 38% of these deaths.3

• In 2003, 3,571 young drivers ages 16-20 died in motor vehicle crashes. Of these, 1,131 - approximately 32% - had been drinking, and 26% were legally drunk at the time of the crash.4

• A survey of college students in 2001 revealed that, for students under age 21, 26% drove after drinking alcohol, more than 10% drove after consuming more than five drinks, and almost a quarter rode with a high or drunk driver at least once in the 30 days before the survey.5

• In the year 2000, only 7% of licensed drivers were ages 15 to 20. However, in that same year, they represented approximately 13% of drivers who had been drinking and were involved in fatal crashes.6

Alcohol Dependence:

• Americans who began drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who wait until the age of 21.7

• In November 2004, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) concluded that alcohol abuse and dependence are "developmental disorders."8

• An analysis published in the November 15, 2004 issue of Biological Psychiatry stated that the onset of alcohol dependence peaks by 18 years of age.9

Risky Sexual Behavior:

• It is estimated that teenage girls who binge drink are up to 63% more likely to become teen mothers.10

• In a poll of more than 11,700 college students from 128 colleges in the United States, researchers found that, compared to those who waited to drink until they were 19 or older, college students who got drunk for the first time before age 13 were twice as likely to say they had had unplanned sex because of drinking. They were more than twice as likely to say they had had unprotected sex because of drinking.11

• In a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 23% (5.6 million) of sexually active teens and young adults ages 15-24 in the United States reported having had unprotected sex because they were drinking or using drugs at the time. Twenty-four percent of teens ages 15-17 said that their alcohol and drug use led them to do more sexually than they had planned.12

Health Consequences:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 4,554 underage deaths each year are due to excessive alcohol use.13

• Alcohol use plays a substantial role in all three leading causes of death among youth - unintentional injuries (including motor vehicle fatalities and drownings), suicides and homicides.14

• Those who begin drinking before the age of 14 are five times more likely than those who begin drinking after the age of 21 to be injured while under the influence of alcohol at some point during their lives.15

• Among young people, binge drinkers and heavy drinkers are more than twice as likely as non-drinkers to report having attempted to injure themselves or having contemplated or attempted to commit suicide.16,17

• Research has also shown another specific link between heavy alcohol use and youth suicides. States that passed "zero tolerance" laws to reduce youth drinking-driving also experienced statistically significant reductions in suicide deaths among 15- to 20-year-olds, compared to states that did not pass such laws.18

• There is growing evidence to suggest that alcohol use prior to age 21 impairs crucial aspects of youthful brain development. In one recent study, heavy-drinking adolescents who had been sober for three weeks still scored 10 percent lower than non-drinking peers on tests requiring verbal and nonverbal recall and skills needed for map reading, geometry, and science.19

Social Consequences:

• The costs of youth drinking are an estimated $53 billion annually, and include costs to society such as medical care costs and lost productivity, as well as costs to the young drinker such as pain and suffering and loss of income.20

• A study that followed over 6,500 individuals found that, by the age of 23, those who were drinkers by seventh grade were:

- more likely than non-drinkers to have "missed work for no good reason,"
- more likely to be substance-users,
- more likely to engage in criminal and violent behavior, and
- between 1.7 and 2.3 times more likely to be weekly or binge drinkers, exhibit signs of alcohol dependence, and experience multiple alcohol problems.21

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